June 12, 2007

365 Days #163 - Badger Theatre Movie Phone - The Sequel (mp3s)

In 1993, I became hooked on calling the answering machine of the Badger Theatre in Reedsburg, Wisconsin, to hear proprietor Elmer Krueger's self-penned description of each week's feature presentation. Sequels are rarely as good as the original (and this summer, we're learning that third installments are even dicier), so I make no claim that these phone messages approach the quality of the three classics I posted as part of the original 365 Days Project. But even if none of these four messages reaches the soaring brilliance of his two-minute oration on behalf of "The Secret Garden", it's still fun to hear his sales pitch on such timeless cinematic gems as "Blank Check" and "Mr. Nanny".
The Badger ceased operation as a movie theatre in 1994, another single-screen casualty of the multiplexing of America, and is now a music venue.

And Google informs me that Elmer Krueger's estate, including many posters and other pieces of movie memorabilia he'd collected through the years, was auctioned off last October 11, but thanks to 365 Days, his voice will live on.

Comments

Now I wish I'd recorded some of it, but there used to be a dollar theater in Bangor, Maine, that had the best messages ever. They were made by snotty, give-a-care teenagers, whose sense of responsibility toward making them was evident in the fact that weeks would go by sometimes before they were even updated. When they were, they were read with incredibly sarcastic enthusiasm--picture Steve Martin's "well excuuuse me" applied to a movie title. One made today might go: "Oceans...THIRTEEN! Starring, oh boy--George Clooney! And hey, it's only....(amazed) 117 minutes long! Wow! Showtimes are at seven.........thirty! and 9:35!" And every time they mentioned if you "bring your own bowl" you get a discoount on popcorn, they of course lingered leeringly on that phrase. I was sorry when they closed down, even though I had never gone.

Elmers inclusion of "Real Reedsburg Butter" in his rhapsodizing forced me to google the phrase, and if you get on a plane RIGHT NOW, you'll still have time to enjoy the Reedsburg Butter Festival, which is, coincidentally, happening this week!

http://www.reedsburg.org/coe/Default.asp

When I was a kid you could call the local brewery and get the automated weather and boating forecast. We were also on a 4 or 5 person party line up to the late 60's (we were three long rings!) and it would have been cool, albeit illegal, to record some of the neighboring biddys bashing each other. There must be tons of this stuff out there, but unfortunately only a few with great wisdom ever record and save it. If only I'd known....

"Video" quality at a theater, and this guy OWNED the place?? I like how he forgot to cut the machine off at the end of that last one. I once called a theater and heard someone stumble on a title, shouting "What's the name of the fucking....FUCK!!!" followed by a slamming sound. Wish I'd recorded that one.
I actually did the phone announcements at a theater I worked at for a while, I tried to make them interesting without being too obvious about it.

I would go to the Badger Theater in the Early 80's and Elmer would make us spit out our gum in his hand before he'd let us enter the theater....also I remember the fountain in the corner...it was one of those oil based/water fountains.